Sellsword, Spellsword
by Adreus
Summary: discontinued — "She doesn't seem like herself." "You barely know her, Ike." "That's true. But I want to. What's messing her up?" "You." —Ike/Zelda.


**Notes: **I just found this. It was hiding in my documents, no explanation behind it or anything. Like a lot of my multichaptered fics, I don't know it'll ever be finished, but here you go anyway, I suppose.

_Super Smash Bros. Brawl, The Legend of Zelda, _and _Fire Emblem _are property of Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Intelligent Systems; I claim no rights.

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_Sellsword/Spellsword_

* * *

"And there he is," Peach sighed dreamily over her coffee, not bothering to hide her admiration at all, never mind that they were seated in public outside the coffee house where everyone could see and hear them. Her companion, Princess Zelda, was not quite as captivated by the man Peach was swooning over. Rather, Zelda was unimpressed, and she rolled her eyes at Peach's infantile attraction.

Peach spotted Zelda's look and pouted. "Oh, come on, Zelda, even you must admit that he's"—she caught his image on the inside of the shop—"hand… some." When she saw him she seemed to melt something despicable, Zelda thought, especially since Peach had a boyfriend; more importantly because the other day said boyfriend had proposed and she had gleefully accepted, so fiancé would probably be the more accurate term.

Taking a sip of her hot drink, Zelda stubbornly admitted, "I don't." She caught sight of him as well, ordering his usual caramel latte with a smile. Soon he would pay $1.37 for it and step out with a thank you, have a nice day. Then he would stop just outside the small shop, taste a bit to make sure it was perfect, and then finally he would leave, the damned sellsword that made Peach bubblier than usual and Zelda angry. She did not find him handsome; she found him mean and rude and cutthroat, all of which she could tell from the distance. Not because she was _afraid _of him, as someone might insist, but more-so because she could, wisdom bestowed upon her, from a distance tell of him what there was to know.

Peach did not press the subject further as she watched him as he went through Zelda's predicted cycle. Zelda could not see the future; this had been happening for a few days now. True to her word within moments he stepped out and tasted his drink. Immediately Peach averted her gaze so as to be inconspicuous. There was a moment where silence fall upon the girls (and him, Zelda supposed). He began to walk away and Zelda was just about to breathe when Peach exclaimed excitedly, "Hello, Ike!"

Zelda had never before felt the need to punch something. It was invigorating.

A choke and a chortle later, she saw the handsome young man stop and turn back with a "Hm?" When he saw Peach he smiled, and replied, "Well met, Princess Peach. And…" he paused, trying to get a better look at the other woman, who was doing her best at attempting to hide under the table. "…Princess Zelda?"

"Peach, just call me Peach," she corrected, promptly kicking Zelda as hard as she could while still prim. The other princess muffled a squeal of pain and resorted to glaring at Peach with such ferocity that she brought new meaning to the term 'Din's Fire.' "Won't you join us, Ike?" Peach continued sweetly, innocently, all peaches-and-cream.

Ignorance was bliss and Ike saw naught amidst. "I'd love to," he said, pulling over a chair from a vacant table beside them. When he sat, Zelda could swear she smelled something in the air that vaguely resembled the combination of sweat and smoke most commonly smelled around Solid Snake. No doubt this was from Ike being around the man so much of his time. She scrunched up her nose in distaste and found her coffee's taste spoiled.

Ike… was big.

Well, not as large as some others she saw on a daily basis, but he was sinewy, larger than her normal company, and about the size of her enemy.

"So what have you been up to?" Peach casually strung up conversation but the tension Zelda felt would not clear. This man… he was ungentle just from the look of his worn hands. Such recklessness could be brought about only by a mercenary, those easily swayed by money, with no true courage or motivation. There was nothing about him that was handsome; if anything his blue hair, untidy and unclean was _disgusting_ and his features were no better.

She did not like sellswords. She had no fondness for their lack of grace.

As Zelda did her best to seem occupied, Ike and Peach continued to chat idly. It occurred to Zelda that it was probably rude of her to not speak at all in his presence, but it was too late now and there was no way for her to come out politely. In any case, she was too busy seething to pay any true attention to the conversation. On her napkin she began to doodle numerous ways that she might be able to destroy—not kill, mind—Peach.

"Zelda?" It was Ike that brought her out of her stupor and back into the real world, something that she did not appreciate in the slightest.

"Princess," she corrected automatically with a snap, "What do you want?" Ike was taken aback by her strange behavior and looked confused. Peach's jaw dropped—never had she seen Zelda act with such attitude!

Recognizing the feeling of guilt in the pit of her stomach, Zelda cast down her gaze to look at the watch on her wrist, using it as an excuse to look away more than anything else. For a moment Ike had looked like a wounded puppy; but it was only for a second and would have been missed by a blink. She hadn't blinked – she saw it and, naturally, curiosity was born inside of her. She began to feel queasy.

Why did she hate him again?

"_Princess _Zelda," there was a bitterness in Peach's voice and the stress made Zelda feel even _worse_. What was wrong with her, whenever she was in front of this man? She had never felt like this before; both angry and guilty. Never had she even provided for herself an _opportunity _to be guilty, nor had she ever felt angry without reason. "A call for you at Headquarters." She was referring to the announcement that was currently playing on the public system, a summons for her to see the administration for an unexplained reason and a well appreciated excuse.

Face hot she mumbled a muffled "E-Excuse me," and hurried away, her drink forgotten on the table.

Once she had disappeared around the corner. Ike slammed his fist on the table. "I'm terrible at this," he muttered. "Right?" he looked to Peach for confirmation.

The princess sighed. "It's not you," she told, truthfully. "Zelda's just being stubborn. It's… it's complicated," she finished lamely.

Ike cast a sideways glance where Zelda had disappeared moments before. "Is she alright?" he asked. He relaxed, leaning back in his chair, arms behind his head and one leg over the other. "She… doesn't seem like herself."

Peach gave him a pointed look. "You barely know her, Ike."

"That's true," he admitted, "but I _want _to know her. What's messing her up?"

A sigh, a sip of her coffee. With an unhappy expression she put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands, admitting to him with another sigh, "It's you."


End file.
